Merrick here...
...with a quick heads-up about DOCTOR WHO goings ons at Dragon Con in Atlanta this weekend.
My good friend Ken Plume and I had talked about the possibility of me joining him for some of this merriment - alas timing and logistics worked against me. Still, I was on the phone with Ken quite a bit yesterday as he drove from his North Carolina headquarters to Atlanta, so I suppose I'm there in spirit.
Ken is anchoring two DOCTOR WHO panels over the next few days. They may well be of interest to both hardcore WHOvians and casual viewers as Ken is remarkably well-versed in WHO lore...and is quite knowledgeable about the 2005 + era...but he's also just setting out to watch the retro years, as I am.
Readers may remember that Ken was actually one of two people responsible for getting me hopelessly hooked on WHO (details HERE) - he now launches Twitter-friendly descriptions of the retro episodes he's watching.
Here's what he's Tweeted so far (you can find his Twitter stream HERE)...
AN UNEARTHLY CHILD: Elderly/crotchety time-traveler (with granddaughter in tow) time-naps nosy
teachers & encounters fire-needy Shakespearean Stone Age cavemen.
THE DALEKS: The Doctor and his newly-minted companions arrive on an irradiated planet & find
static-powered pepperpot bumper car mutants called Daleks.
THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION: Everyone gets a bump on the head. Sabotage? Suspicion! Scissors! Terror clocks! What's that, TARDIS? Spring no sprung? Group hug? Snow!
MARCO POLO: Stranded, The Doctor & companions are aided then betrayed by homesick Marco Polo. Then Marco's betrayed! Betrayal all 'round! Kublai Khan!
THE KEYS OF MARINUS: A monkish alien bedeviled by divers has hidden his keys & rather dickishly forces The Doctor & companions to get them if they want to leave.
THE AZTECS: The Doctor & companions head back in time to Mexico for Aztec Spring Break where Barbara is mistaken for The Companion Who Would Be Goddess.
THE SENSORITES: The TARDIS materializes inside a ship full of fraidy-cats paralyzed by flat-footed
psychic aliens fond of onesies but not humans.
THE REIGN OF TERROR: The Doctor re-crotchetifies & intends to unload his companions, but they find
themselves smack dab in the middle of the French Revolution.
TIME & THE RANI: Newly regenerated into a spoon-playing bumbershoot enthusiast, The Doctor is
manipulated by The Rani as Mel outruns Lawrence Welkian traps.
So, how does 1987's "Time and The Rani" fit into a list of DOCTOR WHO episodes from the 1960s? Well, "Time and the Rani" is Sylvester McCoy's first episode as The Doctor - and Ken will be interviewing McCoy live and in person Friday morning, 11:30 am ( Centennial II - III - Hyatt). Ken is, and I do not say this lightly, one of the finest interviewers I've ever come across. If you're at the convention, be sure to check out this discussion - it'll be something quite grand I should think. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! We hope to have some video of Ken's discussion with McCoy shortly after their talk concludes - if/when this comes together we'll update this weekend's Friday Docback (which'll be dedicated to S6's "Night Terrors") with an embed.
Ken will also anchor a second, more generally-themed DOCTOR WHO panel Sunday at 1:00 pm International North - Hyatt. I believe there will be "prizes" at this one.
Finally, if I understand correctly, there will be a screening of "Night Terrors" (S06E09) at the convention - Saturday I think. I'm told a representative of BBC America may be there. If this is so, and you're a regular reader of my WHO posts, maybe you could ask them why the hell I'm still not getting pre-screeners for S6 Wave 2. After three business related e-mails to my BBCA contact, one personal e-mail expressing best wishes during the oncoming Hurricane Irene, one phone call, and one text message, I've received no answer and no explanation. Strangely, I received an e-mail from the same contact regarding a completely different matter we'd been looking into. So, I dunno what to say or think at this point.
You can learn more about Ken's weekend schedule HERE, and glean more details regarding DragonCon's overall schedule HERE.
We'll be back tomorrow with the READER REACTION/Docback for "Night Terrors".
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